Chelsea talking tactics: Slaven Bilic tears it down to build it to tear down

Slaven Bilic did well to get his West Brom side into the Premier League but now Chelsea is facing an opponent doomed for relegation once more.

There are largely two schools of thought for promoted teams. School number one is play the way that got them there. Recent years has shown that to be successful (Bournemouth, Huddersfield) as well as a bit foolhardy (Norwich). School number two is reject the ways that earned promotion and go straight into being a Premier League relegation battling side. That is the route Slaven Bilic is taking thus far at West Brom, either advertently or inadvertently.

It is somewhat mildly interesting that twice now, Bilic has taken oven teams that had recently had hyper defensive coaches. At West Ham it was Sam Allardyce, West Brom there was more of a gap from Tony Pulis’ time. Regardless, Bilic was able to benefit from the structures set in place to let his attacking style flourish.

There is an issue with that however. Bilic really does not know what to do with a defense. While he can make stodgy, conservative teams play electric football, he does so in exchange for whatever left over defensive prowess is there. That usually comes around the second season or so for him, so in a way it is probably less than ideal that they are now in the Premier League in year two.

That has already played out this season. While West Brom did a fine job of keeping both Leicester and Everton at bay, once they conceded the flood gates opened. It is also interesting to note that of the eight goals they have conceded in the Premier League, only two came in the first half. That implies either a concentration or fitness issue.

There are also already signs that Bilic is having war flash backs from his last Premier League stint. Whereas they used an aggressive 4-2-3-1 to get promoted, they are now using a very passive 3-4-3 if not 5-4-1 to stop the bleeding. It is very much opposed to the way that got them there.

West Brom’s main threat seems to be from set pieces, which should worry Frank Lampard just as much as the fact that they will likely be the first opponent to truly pack it in and counter against the Blues. They do have decent attackers that can cause problems and for whatever reason, West Brom seems to be a bogey team of sorts for Chelsea.

If Lampard opts for a strong XI (which there is no indication that he wouldn’t), Chelsea should do very well. Everton is a new force with great new players but none of their chances against West Brom were incredibly spectacular. If the Blues create even the simplest of chances, they should be able to put them in the back of the net.

Of course, the Tottenham League Cup match looms soon afterwards and Lampard may be tempted to rotate ahead of that. Any line up should be able to get by the Baggies, but it is really a matter of how difficult Chelsea wants to make it as Bilic tears West Brom down after building them back up.